The first two books in the “Spelunking Scripture” series are out! They were published last month by Nurturing Faith, a book imprint of Good Faith Media. The first two volumes are Spelunking Scripture: The Letters of Paul, and Spelunking Scripture: Christmas. Two more volumes in the series will be published in the coming months. They are Spelunking Scripture: Acts and the General Epistles of the New Testament, and Spelunking Scripture: Easter.

The first two books can be ordered on the Good Faith Media web site (goodfaithmedia.org). Also available on the Good Faith Media web site are podcasts on the first two books. In the podcasts I answer questions about The Letters of Paul book and the Christmas book in the “Spelunking Scripture” series.

What makes these Spelunking Scripture books different from other Bible studies? For one thing, they are based on some of the most important passages of scripture, rather than on entire books of scripture. To be sure, there is a place for commentaries that focus on entire books of the Bible, covering every passage and verse. But not every passage and every verse of every book is of equal value. Frankly, some passages and verses can be taken out of context and misused as “proof texts” for all manner of un-Christian agenda. For example, in the Introduction to The Letters of Paul book. I note how some passages from the Bible have been used to justify slavery, to subjugate women, and to condemn persons of a different sexual orientation.

Spelunking Scripture attempts to identify some of the most important passages of the Bible that help us to form a Christian agenda that is congruent with the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. Scripture verses that have been used to justify slavery, subjugate women, and condemn persons of a different sexual orientation are not among those most important passages. Frankly, such verses reflect the cultural conditions of the times in which they were written, rather than God’s eternal purposes. So, another objective of Spelunking Scripture is to differentiate cultural conditions from eternal truth.

Spelunking Scripture also uses storytelling to make connections between what the text says and what the text means for us. In other words, in Spelunking Scripture we explore beneath the surface of important Bible passages to seek to discover their relevance for life today. Storytelling moves from the “what” to the “so what?” It moves from “what” the text says to “so what” does the passage mean. In other words, what does the passage have to do with me, and with us?